The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #78 Mark McGwire

Thundering in at #78 is A’s and Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire. Depending on what statistics we focus on, we can say Big Mac is—without hyperbole—the most prolific home run hitter in baseball history. McGwire’s at-bat per home run ratio of 10.6 is by far the best of all time. He owns the records for most home runs over a two-year, three-year, and four-year period. He is the only player in history with a 70 and a 60-home run season. He’s tied with Babe Ruth and Sammy Sosa for most 50-home run seasons. McGwire and Sosa are the only players in history with four consecutive 50-home run seasons. McGwire joins Ruth as the only two players with five seasons of at least 49 home runs. McGwire is 7th all-time in slugging percentage and his .588 mark is the second-best since 1960. His adjusted OPS+ of 163 is 11th all-time and 4th since 1960. McGwire led the league in home runs, slugging %, and OPS+ four times and walks and on-base percentage twice each. His 162-walk total in 1998 is the 5th highest single-season mark in history.  Big Mac finished among the top-7 in MVP voting five times, including a runner-up finish in 1998 after breaking Roger Maris’s single-season home run record.